Buying your first car

Buying your first car can be very difficult. Making the decision between insurance prices and power is never going to be easy, and that’s why we’re here to help. Not to mention that finding a car with cheap insurance can be tough.

Whilst we could point you in the direction of a financed 1 litre Peugeot 107 that’s going to be cheap to insure and tax, we firmly believe that buying something older for less than £2000 is the best way to approach buying your first car.

Insurance is something that we all have to overcome when buying our first car, and whilst it is impossible to know how much your insurance is going to be on each of the cars we talk about in this list, we have managed to create a ‘scoring’ chart to help you when looking at your first car.

Each car will be scored based on looks, enjoyment, mod-ability and insurance pricing, with 1 being awful, and 10 being excellent. So buckle up and enjoy our top 3 first cars.

Peugeot 106 Quicksilver

French cars are mainly known for their faulty electrics and small hatchbacks that contend with Corsa owners for being the kings of McDonalds car parks. But there’s no denying that Peugeot made some great hatchbacks, such as the 1.9 Litre 205 GTI, and the Peugeot 106 is no different.

With it’s aggressive look, the 106 not only looks the part, but is a fun little car to throw around the twisties. Simple mods such as coilovers and removing the rear wiper blade make this car look the part, and with an engine swap to the 16V 1.6 Litre engine from the 106 GTI being very easily achieved, the possibilities with this one are endless.

Due to the aggressive looks and the desire for teenage Colin McRae’s to buy these, cheap insurance definitely isn’t easy to find with one of these cars, but we have heard of 17-20 year olds managing to find cheap insurance on these for around £1500. This isn’t too bad considering you can pick one of these up for around £1000 in fairly good condition.

Looks: 8/10
Enjoyment: 8/10
Mod-ability: 8.5/10
Insurance Price: 6/10

Mazda MX5 MK1 1.6

Pop up headlights, the great big smile from the front bumper and the ability to do donuts. What’s not to love about the MX5?

With a perfect 50/50 weight distribution, the MX5 is said to be one of the best ‘drivers’ cars to have graced the markets, and we have to agree. The steering response you get as you feed this small rear wheel drive car into corners is nothing short of brilliant, and having the ability to get the back end out when you really want to makes this car a perfect first car… just maybe think twice before thinking you’re the DK of England.

With countless mods and a great community surrounding these cars, the heavens are your limits. Whether you’re looking to simply clean your MK1 MX5 up and make it a good looking example, or you’re thinking of making it the ultimate ricer, there is a plethora of car parts websites dedicated to this car.

Many of the MK1 MX5 owners praise the 1.6 engine highly, and even choose that other the 1.8, and that is exactly why we have chosen the 1.6 version for this write up. A good looking car, a solid engine and a truly enjoyable driving experience. We really believe this is the perfect first car.

Looks: 9/10
Enjoyment: 9.5/10
Mod-ability: 9/10
Insurance Price: 7/10

VW Polo

Whilst there isn’t too much exciting going on when it comes to Volkswagen Polo’s, there is no denying that the German engineering mixed with cheap insurance is a great combination for new drivers.

With the ‘DUB’ scene in the UK being a large community, for the young and new car enthusiast, a VW is always a safe bet, and the Polo is a great first choice if you plan on having a reliable car that you can make your own.

There really isn’t much to say on this car other than, there is plenty of mods available, it is fairly ugly as standard and the insurance is cheap.

Looks: 5/10
Enjoyment: 6/10
Mod-ability: 9/10
Insurance Price: 9/10

Where to get cheap insurance?

Make sure you are comparing insurers. You can usually find cheap insurance by clicking here.